


The Bridge

by Hailhailsatan



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25493047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hailhailsatan/pseuds/Hailhailsatan
Summary: Jaskier has a terrible fear of heights and this particular journey is going to be a long one, but he refuses to give up.___Or___Geralt isn't used to touching people but in this case, he makes an exception to comfort Jaskier.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 5
Kudos: 131





	The Bridge

He didn’t touch anyone. It wasn’t a witcher thing, it was a Geralt thing. He played it off as a witcher thing, of course, but Jaskier had been to Kaer Morhen and enjoyed countless occasions of sitting on Eskel’s lap by the fire or giving Lambert a shoulder massage after training, Jaskier just liked contact, and Geralt didn’t. That was okay though, Jaskier, yes, he did love to get attention, he loved people playing with his hair or being held for no reason other than just needing to feel touched for a few minutes, but he valued Geralt’s boundaries and always made sure trust was there. Their friendship meant more to him than anything.

They had been travelling for a few days. Jaskier knew where they were going. The incline was steep and he had been expecting it. He had never been good with heights, ever since he was a young boy being asked to jump from a small wall into his parents arms, he would never jump, he always had to be lifted down. This was the first time since they’d journeyed together where before the event, Jaskier was truly frightened. The monster at the end of this, he hadn’t even learned the name of, he wasn’t interested, that he could handle, it was the climb up the mountain that had his stomach churning.   
He had lost count of how many adventures they had been on together, but, before this one, he was hoping his fear was far in the past considering what he had seen with Geralt. As soon as the houses from the village they had left begun to get smaller, his heart rate raced and he knew this was going to be difficult.  
He was telling and retelling stories constantly, never leaving more than half a minutes silence between each tale. Geralt had noticed.

“There’s a cave up ahead, I’ve rested there before, nothing around it for at least 3 miles, we can set up camp and I’ll go ahead.”  
“Why? I said I’d come with you and I will.”

Jaskier replied with a more defensive tone than he normally would have, which made Geralt turn and glare at him.

“I mean it Geralt, I want to press on, we’ll lose light if we stop.”

Geralt shrugged his shoulders and continued on, eventually passing the cave he had spoken about, which by this point, Jaskier didn’t even look at, almost closing his eyes as he passed it, not even considering the option.  
He felt stupid. The things Geralt had seen and done without thinking about it, and he was afraid of walking up a mountain? He needed to do this.

Each time Jaskier thought they had reached the peak, a new peak emerged through the clouds. He felt faint. And then, silence. Geralt, who hadn’t been focusing on the journey, trying to tune out Jaskier, looked around when it was suddenly quiet. Ahead of the pair was a long rope bridge with a wooden, swinging walkway. Geralt could hear the bards heartbeat loud and clear, louder than the sea, far underneath them. By this point, Jaskier’s legs began to shake, his knees almost meeting in the middle. He really, really wanted to go across, but he wasn’t sure his legs would let him. His body started to feel cold, his stomach sick. He had made such a fuss about not staying at the cave, it was important that he got across this bridge. Geralt’s face had softened. This wasn’t a silly worry, he could sense the utter fear that had taken over Jaskier’s body.

“You know, there isn’t a time limit on this, if you wanted, we could go back to the cave-”  
“NO.”  
Jaskier shouted back, his voice breaking.  
“No, Geralt, I can- I can-”  
His eyes started to water. His throat burning, trying to hold back the tears. He stepped forward ever so slightly to take a closer look at the bridge. He shouldn’t have. His eyes rolled back and he stumbled, catching himself on one of the poles holding the bridge to the mountain.   
Geralt quickly moved in behind him. He lifted his hand to put it on his shoulder then paused. Then, he turned Jaskier round and held him close, wrapping his arms round him and steadying his shaking. Jaskier began to bawl and wrapped his arms back round the witcher. 

“Jask. It’s a safe bridge, I’ve been over it before lots of times. It really is safe. But if you don’t want to go across, we should go back, it really doesn’t matter, okay?”

Jaskier looked up, rubbing his red eyes, trying to dry them as tears continued to stream down his face. His shoulders visibly moving up and down with his crying.

“Geralt, I really don’t want to ruin this. I-”  
“Listen to me.”  
Geralt put his hand under Jaskier’s chin. He waited until Jaskier looked right into his eyes.

“You haven’t ruined anything. Okay? Get that out of your head. We’re very high up and it’s understandable to be upset. You’re getting yourself into a state, sweetheart. Let’s go back, stay overnight in the cave, and if you’re really, really wanting to try, we can come back tomorrow, or you can stay here and I’ll come back and get you later, hmm?”  
Geralt smiled, trying to lighten Jaskier’s mood. He had never heard Geralt speak like this, never mind seen him be so touchy with anyone. It filled him with so much safety, knowing how much Geralt must mean what he’s saying to go to this level. Jaskier nodded with a petted lip which Geralt pushed back in, jokingly, making him laugh.   
It didn’t feel like giving up, he could try again tomorrow. Geralt could feel his heart rate return to normal which made him smile. 

“You ready to go back?”  
“mmhm.”

Geralt took Jaskier’s hand and squeezed it, before kissing his temple.

“Let’s go. You keep to the inside, just keep your eyes forward. So keep going, what were you telling me about, clothes you were thinking of getting in Novigrad when we go back, right?”  
Jaskier’s breathing steadied as he began to talk again, just holding onto Geralt’s hand and keeping his eyes in front of him. He’d try again tomorrow. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!!  
> Tumblr/kofi: hailhailsatan


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